The
dust has settled a bit since Christian humanitarian aid organization
World Vision’s March 24 announcement
that it would hire gay couples who are legally married in the state
in which they reside. Since “World Vision-gate” remains
a hot topic, it’s time for some introspection; likewise to do
some digging to find out if WV truly is a Christian organization, as
it claims.

When
WV announced its decision to hire gay people, not surprisingly Bible
believing Christians found the decision unsettling. Clearly WV’s
Board of Directors chose to ignore the plain teaching of Scripture regarding
homosexuality.
As a result, a large number of believers, including some high-profile
evangelical leaders, took to the blogosphere in protest and thousands
stormed WV’s website. Board members hadn’t counted on the
huge uproar their unbiblical decision would cause. Certainly they expected
WV’s financial support to take a minor hit from unhappy sponsors.
But evidently no one anticipated just how big the hit would be. According
one source 10,000 sponsors pulled out. (More on this in a moment.)

Within
2 days the board reversed its decision. Immediately Richard Stearns,
president of World Vision issued a public apology. The following is
an excerpt of his apology from Christianity Today:

"The
last couple of days have been very painful," organization president
Rich Stearns told reporters this evening. "We feel pain and a broken
heart for the confusion we caused for many friends who saw this policy
change as a strong reversal of World Vision's commitment to biblical
authority, which it was not intended to be."

"Rather
than creating more unity [among Christians], we created more division,
and that was not the intent. … Our board acknowledged that the
policy change we made was a mistake … and we believe that [World
Vision supporters] helped us to see that with more clarity … and
we're asking you to forgive us for that mistake."

"We
listened to [our] friends, we listened to their counsel. They tried
to point out in loving ways that the conduct policy change was simply
not consistent … with the authority of Scripture and how we apply
Scripture to our lives. … We did inadequate consultation with
our supporters. If I could have a do-over on one thing, I would have
done much more consultation with Christian leaders."

"What
we are affirming today is there are certain beliefs that are so core
to our Trinitarian faith that we must take a strong stand on those beliefs.
… We cannot defer to a small minority of churches and denominations
that have taken a different position."

"Yes,
we will certainly defer on many issues that are not so central to our
understanding of the Christian faith. … But on the authority of
Scripture in our organization's work [and employee conduct] ... and
on marriage as an institution ordained by God between a man and a woman—those
are age-old and fundamental Christian beliefs. We cannot defer on things
that are that central to the faith."

Here’s
what Stearns said about the large number of child sponsorships that
were cancelled:

"That
grieves us, because the children we serve will suffer because of that.
… But our choice is not about money or income. It's a sincere
desire for us to do the right thing. To be consistent with our core
values and to respond to the legitimate feedback and counsel we have
received from supporters and friends of World Vision." (Source)

Doing
the right thing meant WV had to throw gay people under the bus.

Stearns
now wants us to believe that the organization needed feedback and counsel
from supporters and friends to help them realize that homosexuality
is a sin and as such practicing homosexuals must repent and turn to
God.

As
previously stated, it was alleged that10,000 kids lost their sponsorship
in those 2 short days after the original announcement. Who made this
claim? Far left blogger Matthew Paul Turner. And who did Turner blame
for the loss of support? “So-called born again Christians.”
In a blog post Turner grumbled:

Last
Monday, the day of the announcement, World Vision’s call center
received 7000 calls and a loss of 2000 child sponsorships. That’s
just in 12 hours on Monday! The following day those numbers swelled.
And then on Wednesday, within minutes of World Vision announcing that
it was reversing its decision, the calls stopped and, according to Stearns,
“the bleeding stopped.” … It took several days to
count the total loss of sponsorships, a number that eventually rose
to “just about 10,000 children,” according to Stearns. A
handful of people did call back, hoping to start up their sponsorships
again. But the majority did not.

Later
in his piece Turner cuts lose on the born again believers who dared
to withdraw their sponsorship:

There’s
nothing “moral” about using a kid as a bargaining chip to
punish a Christian organization for making a decision that you don’t
agree with. There’s nothing honoring about using children to force
an organization’s hand. There’s nothing “pro life”
about that. There’s nothing remotely “Christlike”
about that. It’s downright disgusting, manipulative, and sad.
If I was a Pentecostal, I might even call it demonic. (Source)

Demonic?
No! What really happened here is that Bible believing Christians sent
a message to World Vision: We will not sponsor organizations that compromise
biblical truth.

Amy
Spreeman of Stand
Up For the Truth who’s been closely following World Vision-gate
isn’t buying Turner’s allegations. She brings to light two
things we need to ask and consider:

1. Is there proof that 10,000 kids are now abandoned?2.Do “sponsorship fees” really go
to the kids?

Nope
and nope. First, WV president Richard Stearns this week gave out this
figure via phone conference to a small group of hand-picked
bloggers who are pro-gay marriage. The blogger with the biggest
audience is Matthew Paul Turner. He works for World Vision. ‘Nuff
said. (emphasis added -- Source)

When
it comes to the Bible’s clear teaches on homosexuality
and marriage,
WV board member Jacqueline Fuller appears to be as biblically ignorant
as Matthew Paul Turner is. On April 3 she resigned from the organization
“because she disagreed with the agency backtracking on a policy
that would have recognized employees' same-sex spouses.” (Source)

The
homosexual agenda continues to advance and Christians really ought to
come to terms with the fact that it is only a matter of time
when our view of marriage will be plainly illegal. As has been
said
elsewhere, as that agenda moves forward in our country at breakneck
speed, ambivalence is not an option; you will be made to care. As World
Vision’s recent announcements illustrates, it will soon not be
practically possible to simply love others and preach the gospel, without
having a clear explanation about what the Bible says about homosexuality.
(emphasis and link in original -- Source)

Spenser
vs. World Vision

In
2007 WV found itself in Federal court defending its right to hire only
those who shared in its Christian beliefs. The lawsuit went on for four
years. Then in October 2011 the decision came down on the side of World
Vision. The headline in Christian Headline News read:

VICTORY
FOR RELIGIOUS HIRING IN WORLD VISION CASE

According
to the report:

As
a requirement for employment, Silvia Spencer, Ted Youngberg and Vicki
Hulse had acknowledged their agreement and compliance with World Vision's
statement of faith upon being hired. In November 2006, however, the
three were terminated by World Vision after an internal investigation
determined Spencer, Youngberg and Hulse did not believe in the deity
of Jesus Christ and denied the doctrine of the Trinity ("There
is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and the
Holy Spirit), a fundamental tenant of the organization's core values.

Claiming
discrimination, the disgruntled employees filed a complaint against
the Federal Way-based humanitarian aid organization in 2007. The lower
court granted World Vision a summary judgment and, in 2009, the plaintiffs
appealed the district court's decision.

Judges
found the reason for firing was not in dispute. On August 23, however,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that World
Vision was a “religious organization” and therefore exempt
from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars religious
discrimination in hiring.

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From
the same article:

"I
am pleased, relieved and gratified with the court's action," said
World Vision's U.S. president, Richard Stearns, in a statement. "After
four years of litigation, we at World Vision U.S. may now put this matter
behind us, and continue our policy of hiring only Christians."
(Source)

Reading
this statement from Sterns makes one wonder why, after battling for
four years to have the right and freedom to hire only those who cling
to WV’s supposed biblical views and values, would this professed
Christian organization decide to hire “married” homosexuals?

Marsha
West is the Founder and Editor of Email
Brigade News Report, an online news service for conservative people
of faith. Marsha is a freelance writer whose main focus is on religious
and cultural issues. She is a regular contributor to NewsWithViews.com;
TheConservativevoice; RenewAmerica; Christianworldviewnetwork; Webcommentary
and other popular websites. Her writings have also appeared on WorldnetDaily;
Canadafreepress; AmericanDaily and several Christian periodicals.

Marsha loves
to write fiction for the younger generation. She is currently writing
a series of books about an average Christian family and the cultural issues
they face. Her books equip kids to defend their faith and live for Christ.